Tractor-wheel



V. E. NELSON,

TRACTOR WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.I9.1917.

1 ,305,303. Patented June 3, 1919.

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i 'nvawto b V/CTO/i E. NELSON.

Gamma VICTOR E. NELSON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

TRACTOR-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 11119 3, 1919 Applicationfiled October 19, 1917. Serial No. 197,418.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VICTOR E. NELSON, acitizen of the United States, residing atDetroit, county of Wayne, Stateof Michlgan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inTractor- Wheels, and declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and usethe same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to tractor wheels, and its object is a wheelcomparatively simple and inexpensive in construction provided withretractable cleats adapted to project into the ground to give a greattraction and prevent slipping of the wheel in driving the machine. Afurther object of the invention is to provide cleats that areautomatically projected and retracted as the wheel revolves, thearrangement being such that the cleats may be made to project on thelower or ground contacting side of the wheel and to retract on the upperside thereof or vice versa as occasion may demand, and for the purposehereinafter more fully described. A further object of the invention isto provide a wheel having a series of cleats adapted to be automaticallyprojected or retracted.

as the wheel revolves, and a manual means to control the operationthereof to vary the extent to which the cleats may be projected andfurther, to set the apparatus so that the cleats may be projected eitheron the upper or lower side of the wheel.

A further object of the invention is a device having automaticallyprojecting and retracting cleats as stated, whereby an accumulation ofmud or earth behind the cleats may be avoided and a scraper attachmentthat may be brought into use on the upper side of the wheel peripherywhen the cleats are retracted to remove the accumulation of dirttherefrom. These and other objects and the several novel features of theinvention in its preferred form are hereinafter more fully described andclaimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of a wheel embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line H of Fig. 2. v The wheel may be of anyapproved type preferably a wire wheel having the outer rim 1 and theinner hub members 2 and 3 secured to therim by means of spokes 4:. Thehubs 2 and 3 are provided with laterally extending flanges 5 and-6facing one toward the other as indicated in Fig. 2 and are spaced apartas shown, to receive the inner rlng member 7 which rides therebetween.This ring member is grooved to receive the apertured ends of the shanks8 of the blades or cleats 9, the shanks being pinned to the ring as willbe readily understood from Fig. 3. A peripheral plate 10 covers thespace between the flanges 5 and 6, as will be understood from Fig. 2,being bolted to the periphery of the flanges. Thus the two upper membersare secured together, the plate 10 being apertured to allow movement ofthe shanks 8 of the cleats as required in the operation of the device,the slots being elongated somewhat to allow movement of the shanks onthe pivots. Both the plates 5 and 6 are provided with similar slots 11and a pin is provided extending through the ring member 7 and riding inthe said slots so that on rotation of the wheel and hub members the ringmember is made to turn therewith and carry the blades or cleat members9. The ring member 7 is centrally apertured to receive the eccentric 12which extends into the space between the hub members 2 and 3 and isitself provided with a hub 13 on which the hubs 2 and 3 of the wheel mayrevolve. This inner hub 13 of the eccentric extends outward to one sideof the wheel preferably the inner side, and a hand lever 14: is securedthereto by means of which it may be turned. As will be understood fromFig. 1 the handle may occupy the position shown in full lines at. whichtime the eccentric member 12 is on the lower side ofrthe wheel, and thecleats are projected into the ground surface and retracted on the uppersurface. By turning the handle 14: to reverse position, the eccentric isexactly reversed in position so that the cleats are retracted from onthe lower periphery of the wheel and projected onto the upper,periphery. V a

With the usual tractor for soft ground a cleat of considerable depth isrequired to prevent a spinning of the wheel, and even then with a verysoft earth the mud binds up behind the cleats and the wheel may spin.

With this arrangement on revolution of the wheel and of the ring members7 carrying the blades or cleat members, the rotation of the wheel aboutthe eccentric 7 forces the blades outward on the lower side of the wheeland withdraws them as it approaches the upper side preventing anaccumulation of earth behind the cleats and a scraper attachment behindthe wheel 1 may beprovided attached to a convenient part of the vehicleas a frame member 10, and may be manually positioned over the upper sideof the wheel periphery to scrape the earth from the said wheel. Thewheel rim is apertured to allow the cleats or blades to be reciprocatedin and out as thewheel revolves and as will be noted from the drawing,guides 53 are formed on the inside of the wheel rim to hold the cleatsor blades in the aperture therein, In many States tractors with deepcleats are not allowed to travel the usual roadways inasmuch as it cutsthe surface of the same. Heretofore the cleats had to be removed fromthe wheels whenever it was desired to travel the highway. By thisarrangement with the device in use in the field the cleats are made toproject as shown in Fig, 1, the handle 14 being positioned as shown byfull lines, and when it is desired to travel the highway the scrapermember 15 is turned from position or removed and the handle turned toreverse the position of the eccentric member 12, which projects theblades on the upper side of the periphery and retracts them on thelower. Various devices may be used to turn the-hub member '13, but I donot desire-to confine myself to the exact construction shown in theillustration, showing only one form of mechanism that may be utilizedfor the purpose.

The wheel may be used to rotate with the axle in which case the axleextends through the aperture of the hub member 13 which is loosethereon, the axle being secured solidly tothe hub 2. In the case ofchain driven wheel the axle is simply not secured to the'hub 2 but asprocket may be secured thereto, and in either case, the hubs 2 and 3during the progress of the machine rotate on the hub '13 of theeccentric member, the hub 13 being held from rotation with the wheelbymeans of the hand lever 14: or other mechanism adapted for thepurpose.

The hand lever lei is held in position by means of a spin 20 extendinginto an aperture and a bracket 21 located on one side of the wheelandsecured to the framework of the machine. The bracket 21 has severalapertures QQthe'rein, and the wheel may be positioned with the pin 20 inany one of the several apertures, whereby the eccentric may be variouslypositioned about the center of rotation of the wheel, and the extent ofprojection of the blades into the ground surface varied as may berequired by the condition of the ground. A similar bracket 23 isprovided on the opposite side of the wheel for securing of the lever 14kin position opposite to that shown in Fig. 1.

By the described arrangement of parts a wheel of comparativelyinexpensive construction is provided that is practically selfcleaning inoperation, the cleats reciprocating through apertures in the wheel rimin which they fit comparatively closely and by reversing the position ofthe eccentric the cleats may be made to project on either the upper orlower side of the wheel as is required in use.

Having thus brie-fly described my invention, its utility and mode ofoperation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 1. In a tractor wheel,a wheel rim having slots insubstantially equidistantly spaced relation about the periphery,radially positioned blades reciprocable in the slots, a hub to which therim is secured, the hub consisting of two parts in spaced relationsecured together, an eccentric band between the hub members to which theblades are attachechan eccentric-positioned within the rim having a hubon which the Wheel hub vmay ride, and means for turning the hub to varythe [relative position of the eccentric about the cen ter of rotation'ofthe wheel.

2. In a tractor wheel, a wheelrim having a series of slots substantiallyequidistantly spaced about the periphery, radially positioned bladesreciprocable in the slots, ;a Wheel hub formed of two similarpartscentrally spaced, an eccentric having a hub on which the wheel hubrides and extending into the space between the parts of the wheel hub,an eccentric band riding on the eccentrio, the blades being pivotallysecured to the band, a shield covering the space between the wheel hubsand being: apertured to allow the shank of the blades to extendtherethrough, said shield providinga means of securing the hubstogether, the eccentric hub extendingbeyond the hub of the wheel on oneside and a lever secured to the said extension whereby the position ofthe cocentric about the center of rotation of the wheel may be altered,and means for securing the lever in various set positions to vary theextent of projection of the blades.

3. A tractor wheel comprisingawheelrim having slots substantiallyequidistantlyspaced about the periphery, a series of radially positionedblades reciprocablein the slots, a wheel formed of two parts centrallyspaced, an eccentric ring between the said parts'to which thebladesareattached,the

hub members having radial slots, a pin extending through the ring andengaging in the slots whereby rotation of the Wheel rotates the ring, aneccentric for the ring, means for releasably holding the eccentric instationary relation during rotation of the wheel whereby the said ringis made to rotzt'te about the eccentric and project the In testimonywhereof, I sign this specification.

VICTOR E. NELSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

